Roast of Topside Beef
Serves 6-8
- 3 kg topside of beef
- olive oil
- 1⁄2 a head of celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Dorset sea salt
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
Gravy
- 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
- 125 ml red wine
- 1 litre beef stock
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
Take the beef out of the fridge 1 hour before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature. Drizzle the beef with 2 tablespoons of oil, season with a pinch of sea salt and a good pinch of black pepper, then rub all over the meat. Place a roasting tray big enough to fit the beef on the hob over a high heat, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of oil, then sear the beef all over for a few minutes, until browned all over.
Then remove the beef from the tray, add the trivet, roughly chop the celery and carrots into big chunks, peel and chop the onion into wedges and break up the garlic bulb into cloves. Add the bay, rosemary, and thyme, shake the tray to coat the veg in any juices, add the beef back to the roasting tray, then roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes for medium and blushing, or cook to your liking.
Baste the beef halfway through and if the veg looks dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them from burning. Remove the beef to a platter, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while you make the gravy. For the gravy, place the tray on the hob over a medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, then mash everything with a potato masher, scraping up all the goodness from the base of the tray. Then pour over the wine and let it bubble away for a minute or two, before pouring in the stock. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer for around 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
When the gravy is the consistency of your liking, pour it through a sieve into a pan, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon. Keep warm over a low heat until ready to serve, skimming away any excess fat that comes to the surface, then pour into a gravy jug.